| Posted by xBNSFer on October 30, 2021 | |
The "National Railroad Passenger Corporation" (Amtrak) was established based on a "Big Lie," the lie being the notion that "Amtrak" would become "profitable" while competing with government subsidized highways (autos and buses) AND aviation/airlines. The anticipated "failure" was that it would require endless government subsidy (which it has) and thereby provide the excuse to kill it off. However, the political will to do so never surfaced, and here we are, 50 years later, with Amtrak sometimes being strangled and sometimes doted on.
Not to say there is anything wrong with "subsidizing" Amtrak when all the competing transport is much more heavily subsidized already, just some historical context about the "anticipated failure."
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